The present invention relates to animal traps and, in particular, rodent traps having a spring-actuated jaw which descends upon the animal when the animal contacts a baited trigger or release mechanism for said jaw.
Such traps are in such common usage that few notable improvements have been made in almost a century.
Conventional traps of the above-described type are generally satisfactory in operation but are tedious to assemble, because generally they consist of a number of separate parts, including a base (usually wooden), a spring-actuated jaw (usually in two parts, i.e. the jaw and a spring), a hold-down bar for the jaw and a baited trigger which secures the bar holding the jaw and then releases it when the trigger is disturbed. Staples or the like are conventionally used to fasten the various components to the base.
In a preferred embodiment, the traps provided by the present invention consist of only two parts, a one-piece base having all essential elements necessary for mounting thereon a one-piece combination torsion spring and striker bar. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a trap which may be readily assembled.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for such ready assembly.